


Not Carbon Dated

by lifesanovel



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers return, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, POV Alternating, Peter-centric, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Precious Peter Parker, Team Cap friendly, Team Iron Man friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 13:22:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11692512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifesanovel/pseuds/lifesanovel
Summary: It didn't take long for those fighting at Leipzig to realize that Spider-Man was on the young side. Once they meet him without the mask on they  finally realize just how young he is.





	Not Carbon Dated

**Author's Note:**

> This fic (my first!) was inspired by online discussions where people pointed out the possibility that in Captain America: Civil War during the fight in Leipzig Bucky was shocked when Peter caught his punch not because Peter caught his punch, but because he realizes Peter was a kid. It got me thinking about what was going through the others' minds when they interacted with Peter, because most of them are intelligent enough to realize there was no way Peter was an adult, not that Peter was doing a very good job of pretending to be an adult.
> 
> I used some likes from Captain America: Civil War that do not belong to me, nor do the characters

“You have a metal arm? That’s awesome!” Bucky froze not from the words but the voice speaking them. If the person in the red and blue spandex suit was any older than 16 Bucky was a saint, and Bucky sure as hell knew he wasn’t. He barely had a moment to process this before Sam was flying into the kid, knocking him away from Bucky. The entire time Sam and he were fighting the kid, Bucky was pulling his punches- not that he thought the kid couldn’t take them, but because _he was a kid_. An odd distinction, but one he felt the need to make.

 _He’s too much like Steve as a kid_ , Bucky thought, _All bravery and standing up for what he thinks is right with little regard for himself._ Even though he was holding back, Sam wasn’t afraid to go after the kid full force. Despite this both of them found themselves webbed to the floor by the Spider-Kid eventually.

“He’s a kid,” Bucky said in disbelief.

“No shit,” Sam responded, “The way he was throwing those punches and talking so much? Definitely a young guy. I can’t believe Mr. Has-No-Problems-Throwing-People-Off-Bridges got beat by a kid.”

“I mean a literal kid, not legal, not able to sign his own paperwork kind of kid. No way he’s over 16, I’d bet anything. No way in hell I’m fighting someone that young, especially when he’s almost an exact copy of Steve at that age”

“C’mon, what makes you think he’s that young?” Sam looked over at Bucky, who looked back completely serious.

“His voice, his naive attitude, just,” Bucky huffed in frustration, “What little I remember about Steve from before we signed up I see in the Spider guy. It’s like someone transported pre-serum Steve Rogers into the 21st century and gave him spider powers.”

“Shit,” Sam breathed, “I just beat up a kid.”

“We just got tied up by a kid.”

The two of them looked at each other and sighed, waiting for the webbing to wear off.

* * *

“Got heart kid, where you from?” Steve knew from one look at Spider-Man that he was young. He found out from hearing him talk that he was even younger than he thought.

“Queens,” He grit out as he held up the walkway.

Steve laughed a little, “Brooklyn,” was all he let himself say before he ran to help the others. He didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that maybe he had miscalculated Spider-Man’s age. So what if he had a higher-pitched voice, the kid was probably still 18, knew what he was getting himself into. And if he didn’t know the whole truth? Well, Steve wasn’t going to pause the fight to explain it to him.

* * *

“You remember that really old movie, the Empire Strikes back?” Oh did Scott remember that movie. He took Amelia Carson to see that movie in high school and he got to first base after watching the At-At Walkers be taken down on… oh boy. He most definitely did not like where this was going. He was tied up and knocked over before he could do a damn thing about it.

“Anyone got some orange slices?” He asked as soon as he had shrunk back to normal size. His mouth felt weird, his whole…. Him felt weird. He heard Stark freak out about the Spider-dude and looked over just in time to see the spandex-clad terror regain consciousness and be told to sit out. He only got a glimpse of his jaw and one eye, but Scott could tell that he was really young. _Especially if he thinks Empire Strikes Back is a really old movie whiiiiich looking back on it now is almost thirty years old so maybe he has a point._ But he had a kid, and he knew how kids acted. And Spider-Man? Acted like a kid. 

* * *

Neither Natasha nor Clint had met Spider-Man before the battle at the airport, but they had sure as hell heard of him through SHIELD. There was a lot of information on the vigilante missing and one of them was an identity and age. They had guessed him to be young but…

 _He’s a kid,_ Clint’s frown told her as they fought. Even on opposite sides their communication was impeccable, just like they’d been trained.

 _I_ _doubt he’s much older than Cooper,_ Natasha’s brows agreed.

 _And nearly as clueless about what’s going on_ , Clint’s squint said. With a tilt of their heads both agreed to avoid engaging the vigilante, not out of fear for the kid, but because neither wanted to attack someone who didn’t know why he was even there. 

* * *

_Vision what do you know about Spider-Man?_ Wanda asked her… boyfriend as he cradled her.

 _Very little I’m afraid, Tony brought him on last minute. I was created before Spider-Man entered the vigilante scene and therefore only know what I have heard on the news._ Vision replied slowly, careful not to move Wanda too much for fear of aggravating her injuries, _Why do you ask?_

 _His thoughts are… juvenile for someone of his position. He’s worried about missing his spanish test in the morning and what his Aunt May will think of him if she finds out his identity._ Wanda cast her gaze over to the young man, who was groaning and holding his shoulder as the fight continued around him. She saw herself and Pietro, also fighting for a cause they did not fully understand, in him. Vision followed her line of sight and wished Wanda had not opened his eyes to the problem at hand as the groans were momentarily replaced with a gasp while the… child tried to sit upright. Both looked at each other, at a loss as to what they should do.

* * *

T’Challa was not able to speak to Spider-Man before the battle. He was, however, the only one left to tend to him once everyone else had abandoned the fight or been taken into custody. A SHIELD agent was about to heft up Spider-Man and cuff him until T’Challa intervened.

“He is with me,” He spoke confidently, “He is not to be placed into custody or moved until I have looked him over.” The SHIELD agent hesitated only a moment before shrugging and moving on, leaving the airport with the others.

“Spider-Man,” T’Challa kneeled next to the downed hero. He frowned when there was no response and gently placed a hand on the other’s chest. The other surged up with a gasp and swung at the masked King, “Spider-Man the fight is over.”

“It’s over? I knew I was done but I missed everything?” T’Challa frowned, _That is not the voice of someone who has been trained for battle_ , “Oh no, where’s Mr. Stark? He’s my ride home! Or maybe Happy is… but I don’t know how to reach Happy?”

“Spider-Man, if you come with me I can have one of my trusted physicians look you over. Without fear of your identity being compromised,” He added when a narrow-eyed look was shot his way, “I will even reveal my identity to you, if you are worried.” T’Challa removed his mask and showed his face to Spider-Man, who returned the gesture with a wide-eyed (dare he say bug-eyed) look.

“Y-Your Highness!” Was squeaked out. Spider-Man, dazed, allowed T’Challa to lead him onto his private plane where one of his physician’s was waiting, “I guess that explains why you really laid into Barnes. Even though he didn’t have anything to do with your father’s death.”

Spider-Man glanced around the cabin of the plane furtively for a moment before he sighed and yanked his mask off. The young woman who had come with to treat any wounds her King may have gotten shot T’Challa an angry look before softening her face and beckoning the young vigilante forward so she could examine him.

But there was no reason T’Challa could blame her for that look. The person who took the mask off wasn’t the young man the Wakandan king was expecting, but a mere child. He felt angry that Mr. Stark would allow a child of his country to fight in a personal war, no matter how he tried to explain it away.

“So like, are you just super ripped and agile or do you have super abilities like me? By the way,” The child paused, “I’m Peter. Peter Parker from Queens New York. And I know I seem young, but I’m way more mature than anyone gives me credit for.”

“Well Mr. Parker, you seem more mature than many of our peers here today.” The way the boy flushed wasn’t missed by the King and he smiled to himself, “As for your other question…”

T’Challa wasn’t going to give the boy the full truth- instead he intertwined legend and truth, to paint the same story his father before him had told many times, as the boy’s check-up was completed, and his eyes slowly went from wide-eyed wonder to slipping closed in sleep.

“You may be young of body, but you are wise beyond your years Mr. Parker. It is a fate shared by many, yet not one I would wish on anyone,” T’Challa sighed as he watched the boy shift in his sleep, and nodded his thanks to the physician who finished wrapping his wounds. He placed a hand on the child’s forehead and thought about how he would deal with his new knowledge and look out for the child from afar.

* * *

Rhodey must have been on the good drugs because the kid wearing the Spider-Man costume was no way in hell the same Spider-Man who fought in Germany.

Except it totally was, he fidgeted the same way, rambled endlessly, and sounded so young.

“Mr. Stark was hesitant to let me come visit you because according to him I’m a handful,” He almost sounded smug about that, “And not conducive to you resting and getting better but I was worried about you and I really wanted to make sure you were okay. My Aunt May made you some cookies and I would have given them to you but honestly if there’s something that’s not good for your health it’s Aunt May’s craisin cookies. They’re hard on the digestive tract. And also a bit dry. And burnt.”

“Tony how old is this kid?” Rhodey asked his best friend who was smirking from the doorway.

“I’m fifteen!” The kid’s eyes lit up as he started babbling about how horrible high school was but he had some really great friends. He reminded Rhodey of a younger Tony, less burdened by responsibility and consequences. Happy, or at least really good at faking it for others.

“That’s great kid.”

* * *

It surprisingly took very little to bring the full Avengers and the others who had been present at the airport battle back together. After the commotion caused by the Vulture as to whether or not normal people with enhanced weaponry should be deemed as “powers” Ross went on a rampage and tried to have anyone who was even remotely abnormal locked up. People were hailing Spider-Man both as a menace (The Daily Bugle) or a hero for the little guy (Many of the people who had seen the destruction of the Vulture’s weapons) and were split as to what to do. Others were debating the fate of the Vulture, who was nothing but a normal man with enhanced weaponry. Ross was forced to resign from his position due to a “mental break” when he destroyed a city block in an attempt to capture Peter and subsequently lost any sway over the Accords, and Tony quickly stepped in to take the reigns. The billionaire took only one week to turn the document into something that would benefit the powered community rather than the governments of the world, and convince the President to grant pardons to the exiled Avengers.

“It’s amazing what you did Mr. Stark,” Peter told his mentor for the fourth time that day, “You’re giving the other guys their lives back, even though you didn’t agree with them.”

“It’s not out of the goodness of my heart that I’m doing this kid,” Tony sighed, “I don’t even want to see any of them right now really. But the world needs the Avengers, not just some of them but all of them, and that’s not going to happen with most of them locked up or in hiding.”

“But you could have built a new team, and instead you’re being the bigger person!” Peter pushed. He glanced around, anxious about how his mentor would take his next words, “I-I know what Barnes did was horrible, and Cap keeping that secret from you was no better, but they had their reasons. You doing this shows a sign of forgiveness, and I hope that you guys are able to work out your problems.”

“Don’t speak about things you know nothing about,” Tony ground out, “I needed your help in Germany, and I may help guide you, but you don’t know anything about what is going on.”

“I do know though! I know what it’s like to see someone you love and care about die right in front of you, you’re not the only one who knows what that’s like!” Peter had started and couldn’t stop, “And I know what it’s like to have someone you thought you could trust betray you, and-and it sucks so much but sometimes you have to remember everything else and realize that they had their reasons! Whether it was because they wanted to protect you or someone else until they could find a better solution. Sometimes, Mr. Stark, not everything in a situation evolves around just you! Uncle Ben told me with great power comes great responsibility, and it’ up to you to decide how to use that power responsibly.”

Tony looked at the kid he had taken under his wing, stung for a moment thinking he had once again lost someone form his side and been betrayed. Until he really looked and saw the kid nearly ready to cry from frustration. Sometimes he forgot, that in all Peter’s young and naive righteousness,  he was still a genius and could easily work things out for himself. Wordlessly he grabbed Peter and pulled him into a hug, unsurprised by how quickly he latched on. He let the hug last longer than he would normally allow, before ushering Peter to bed.

That night Tony sent a message to Cap, telling him that he (and everyone else he had released from the Raft) were welcome to come back to the Mansion. Afterwards he tried to ignore how right it felt, and how his heart felt a little lighter. 

* * *

_From: Mr. Stark_

_Be at the Mansion as soon as your Decathalon practice is over. Tell May you’re staying at Ned’s tonight._

_To: Mr. Stark_

_Okay! Can I ask why though?_

  _F_ _rom: Mr. Stark_

_No. Just do it._

“Ned,” Peter whispered to his best friend as they walked out of Decathalon practice with their teammates. 

Ned looked at him questioningly, “Why are you whispering?” 

“Sh! Look, Mr. Stark texted me saying to go the Avenger’s Mansion tonight, and to have you cover for me with Aunt May. WIll you please do it? For me?”

“What?!” Ned yelped when Peter hit him and muttered to be quiet. MJ shot them a look for being so loud and Ned smiled sheepishly, “Of course I’ll cover for you any time, but you have to tell me everything as soon as you can!"

“Of course,” Peter smiled, “I would never keep a secret from you unless I was forced to.” The two best friends smiled at each other and continued chatting with their teammates as they left the high school, before going their separate ways.

* * *

“Alright kid so here’s the deal,” Mr. Stark poured Peter some sort of green smoothie as they settled into the kitchen of the mansion, “Cap and the others are on their way here as we speak."

“What?!” Peter spit his smoothie, which was actually kind of good despite the fact that it was _green,_ out, “Why didn’t you say anything? Should I suit up, is there going to be another fight?”

“No, no, relax kid, nothing like that. I took your advice- I took the high road and invited them back to the mansion, to talk things over,” Mr. Stark set his own glass down, “I invited everyone here so we could ALL sit and talk things out like adults.”

Peter felt his throat tighten at Mr. Stark taking his advice. He nodded, “So did you want me to reveal my identity? Because that’s an awful lot of people who fought in Germany, and I don’t know if-”

“I told you to relax, jeez. I wanted you to come early to give you the choice as to whether or not you wanted to tell everyone who you are. It’s up to you, I really couldn’t care less,” Tony contradicted his words with an apprehensive glance at the teenager.

Peter thought hard for a moment. He wasn’t delusional- Rhodey and King T’Challa already knew about his secret identity. Rhodey made sure Peter stopped in and said hi every time he came to visit, and Peter had been texting the King (thank god for Tony’s international texting plan) once in a great while to check in on how Wakanda was faring. But he knew that even though those are the only two he explicitly told didn’t mean they were the only ones who knew. He was certain Black Widow and the dude with the bow were both fully aware of his identity since they worked for SHIELD and all, and Scarlet Witch could read minds.

“I’ll tell them who I am,” Peter nodded, “If we’re trying to work everything out we shouldn’t be keeping any secrets.” Tony looked proud, but before he could reply Peter heard a vehicle pulling up to the entrance by the kitchen and couldn’t help but stiffen in anticipation.

Even with his enhanced hearing Peter could only hear the low murmur of voices outside as they made their way to the door. He gulped the rest of his smoothie in one go and set the glass down in the sink, before moving slightly behind Mr. Stark- just because he was willing to tell everyone his identity didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous as heck.

“Tony,” Steve Rogers said as he entered the doorway. He stopped a few steps inside, and the rest of the Avengers filed in. King T’Challa was one of the first to enter and immediately caught site of Peter, giving him a small smile. Once they were all in the kitchen, standing and facing Tony and Peter, did it hit Peter what an odd scene they made. Every single person who had been at the airport standing in front of them, separated only by the kitchen counter. Tony seemed unable to respond, and an awkward silence filled the room.

“Thank you for your work in amending the Accords,” T’Challa, ever the diplomat, said, “It has made this whole process easier not only on us but on the entire powered community.”

“It was the least I could do,” Tony laughed. It wasn’t a very pretty laugh, “After all, I messed it up the first time pretty well.”

“Tony,” Steve frowned, “You know that’s not entirely-”

“Anyway,” Tony cut Steve off and began walking out from behind the kitchen island, “Let’s get on with the bonding stuff, huh? I didn’t know what everyone would want to eat so I didn’t make anything, but honestly I can get almost anything delivered here if you want it.”

As Tony stepped away Peter was left uncovered, and he felt eight pairs of eyes fall on him.

“Christ he really is a kid,” Sam breathed out. Peter self-consciously ran his fingers through his hair and realized he was still wearing his backpack from school. He looked over at Mr. Stark and saw the way he had frozen, his back turned to the rest of the kitchen.

“I-I’m uh,” Peter cleared his throat, “My name is Peter Parker and I’m Spider-Man?”

“You sure about that kid?” Clint grinned at the kid. He began snooping around the kitchen, “Nice place here Stark, I didn’t get a chance to really check it out last time I was here.”

“You pull any stunts like the last time I was here and destroy 7 floors again you’ll be back in the Midwest faster than you can say cornstalk Barton,” Tony finally turned around, “The missus and the offspring are settling into their new home half an hour away nicely by the way- Happy is overseeing everything and Pepper is helping Laura decide on color schemes and decorations.”

“Thanks Tony,” Clint was surprised that Tony, even knowing there was a good chance Clint wouldn’t come out of retirement again, might consider that he would want his family to be closer to here, just in case anything happened.

“You should learn how to throw a proper punch runt,” Bucky hadn’t taken his eyes off the kid. If it wasn’t for the fact that he knew exactly the kind of power Peter had hidden he would have guessed he was Steve’s spitting image before the serum. He knew the kid was young. He knew exactly how young. But having his fear confirmed was different.

“I know how to throw a punch!” Peter argued, “I know how to do a lot of stuff!”

“Alright,” Bucky smirked, “Then you can try training with Steve and I.” He saw the kid gulp but nod his head in confirmation. Just like Steve- brave but stupid.

“I have his training down just fine Barnes,” Tony said, “I don’t need you interfering.”

“Tony,” Steve sighed, “We should talk.”

“That was the plan, wasn’t it?”

“I want you to know that just because I didn’t tell you about what happened to Howard and Maria-”

“Don’t bring them up,” Tony spit out, “You’ve shown your priorities there and it wasn’t me.”

“I was worried you would try to kill Bucky!”

The others began looking uncomfortable and ready for a fight to break out, Bucky hunched in on himself.

“If that’s what you thought then you really didn’t know me like either of us thought you did.”

“I thought you were rational enough not to bring a _child_ to fight a personal battle in Germany.”

“He agreed to it- I didn’t force him to do anything,” Tony snorted, “Besides way I remember it you dropped the walkway onto him in order to go and protect Barnes. Just like you did when you turned against me in Siberia.”

“You turned you repulsors on Bucky and cut his arm off,” Steve said.

“He was going after the arc reactor, aka the only thing that was keeping my suit, and me, alive. Then you crushed it,” Tony retorted with a wide sweep of his arm. As they argued the two moved closer to each other, until they were in each other’s faces.

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said quietly. Easing his way between the fighting adults, Peter caught the hand Tony gestured with in the face. The smack resounded in the now-silent kitchen and Peter slowly lifted his hand to his stinging cheek.

“Peter,” Tony breathed, “Are you okay?” He made a move towards the teenager who flinched and missed the gutted look Tony wore.

“You two are both adults,” Peter said quietly as he kept his head turned away from the others, “Who were going to talk things out like adults. Not start a yelling match within ten minutes of everyone getting here. I thought I was the kid here! Yet here the two of you are acting like-like-like a couple of teenage girls arguing over who copied who’s look! You’re both at fault- admit it and apologize, don’t make excuses! If you don’t mind I’m gonna go and do some of my homework, let me know when we’re ordering food.” Peter stalked out of the kitchen and towards the room Mr. Stark had given him free use of whenever he was at the mansion. He laid down on the bed, covering his head with his pillow and tried not to think about how he had just told off two of his biggest heroes and how they probably hated him.

A knock on the door had him lifting his head from under the pillow, and he saw Wanda poke her head into the room, “Mind if I come in?” He shrugged and the young woman let herself into the room and sat down on the edge of his bed.

“They don’t hate you.” Peter turned his head and peered at her from under his pillow, “They’re angry at themselves for letting their argument escalate so quickly, and that you got hurt. They are not, however, angry at you.”

The only response she got was another shrug from the boy and she sighed, placing a gentle hand on his back, “I had a brother named Pietro who reminded me a lot of you. He placed a lot of unnecessary burden on his shoulders, looked out for everyone even if he didn’t particularly like them. You are a good kid Peter, and I am sorry we are meeting under such stressful circumstances but I am not sorry that we are meeting. Would you let me be your friend and teammate?”

Peter slowly removed the pillow from over his head as Wanda spoke to him, and regarded her carefully, “Do you really wanna get to know me?” Wanda nodded, “I’m not a cool as Spider-Man seems and I have a lot of issues I’m dealing with.”

Wanda swallowed at the somber look Peter gave her, “So do I Peter. Perhaps we could help each other work through our issues.”

“I’d like that,” Peter replied.

“Then let’s go back to the kitchen and talk things over with the children, huh?” Wanda gave Peter a smile and held her hand out. He looked at it for only a moment before taking it and allowing her to lead him back into the kitchen. When they entered the others looked their way and Peter gave them a small smile.

“Sorry about that. Now where were we?” He clapped his hands together before pausing, “Wait, should I even be sitting in on these meetings? I turned down Mr. Stark’s offer to join the Avengers.”

“Consider yourself in the JV league for now, until you’re ready to make a rational, unpressured, and fully-informed decision,” Tony said. He reached to put an arm around Peter and relaxed immensely when the teenager didn’t flinch away this time.

“Like when you’re old enough to sign your own paperwork without a guardian’s signature,” Rhodey teased.

“Hey!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed it! Please leave comments, constructive criticism below (I'm a sucker for validation).


End file.
